How Building Demolition Thailand Courts Ordered Started With a Road Measurement
Building demolition Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court ordered for a completed, $100 million high-rise complex traces back to a single disputed measurement — the width of a public road.A high-end, mixed-use residential complex consisting of a twenty-four-storey hotel and an eighteen-storey apartment building in the heart of Bangkok — only recently completed, with a construction cost of approximately three billion Thai Baht (almost one hundred million USD) — has just been ordered demolished by the Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand. There is no further appeal available; the order is final.
[Media coverage from the Bangkok Post and The Nation at the time reported on the court’s demolition order.]
At issue was the width of the public road next to the complex. For the complex to be built, the law required that the public road be at least ten meters wide. The complex’s owner argued that it complied with all legal requirements for construction, citing a document issued by the Public Works Department which had opined that the road’s width would allow for construction of the complex’s high-rise buildings. However, after nearby residents filed an administrative court case claiming the construction was unlawful, the Public Works Department re-measured the road and found it to be less than the required ten meters.
For purposes of this discussion, we will assume the developer was allowed to build based on the Public Works Department’s initial measurement, which satisfied the legal road-width requirement for high-rise construction.
Why would the Supreme Administrative Court order an existing building demolished, even though the developer believed it had — and indeed may have — obtained a valid building permit? This question is particularly relevant for villa and other structure owners in Phuket, where construction violating the eighty-meter elevation and sea-proximity restrictions is common. To answer it, we must first understand the legal status of a building permit in Thailand.
From a legal perspective, the issuance of a building permit is an “administrative order.” An administrative order is defined under Section 5(1) of the Administrative Procedures Act (1996) (“APA”) as an exercise of power by a competent officer that creates, changes, or affects a person’s legal rights or duties — whether by ordering, permission, approval, appeal decision, certification, or registration — excluding the issuance of rules.
The Building Control Act (1979) (“BCA”) governs the issuance of building permits. To construct, modify, or move a structure in Thailand, this administrative order — a building permit — is required. The applicant submits an application and supporting documents to the relevant local administrative office, which verifies the documents, schedules a site visit, and reviews relevant law to confirm the building is legally permissible. In areas like Phuket, land use is primarily governed by three laws: the BCA, the City Planning Act (1975), and the National Environmental Control and Maintenance Act (1992). If the application is in order and the building is legally permissible at the proposed location, the local administrative office must issue the permit.
The legal effect of this administrative order is to grant the holder the right to build a specific structure on a defined plot of land. Once received, the holder cannot be stopped from exercising their rights under the permit, so long as it remains valid. Section 42 of the APA states that an administrative order remains valid “so long as it is not revoked or terminated by time condition.”
Building permits are not open-ended — they expire. Validity depends on building size: one year for buildings under 10,000 square meters, two years for buildings between 10,000 and 100,000 square meters, and three years for buildings exceeding 100,000 square meters. Permits are renewable up to four times — the first renewal matches the original term, while the second through fourth renewals are one year each. Permit holders also have a duty to report construction progress and allow government inspection every ninety days.
Can a building permit be revoked after issuance but before expiration? Yes. As an administrative order, it can be revoked through government administrative action or court order. Any interested third party — such as a neighbor affected by a development’s permit — can initiate a revocation. If the relevant government office or court agrees there is a factual or legal problem with the permit, it may be revoked or amended.
Importantly, the relevant government office does not need to wait for a court ruling. Section 49 of the APA allows the competent officer or their supervisor to revoke an administrative order under Sections 51–53, regardless of whether an appeal has been filed.
The conditions for revocation are strict, and the consequences depend on whether the original permit was lawful or unlawful. Revoking a lawful permit entitles the holder to compensation for resulting damages. Revoking an unlawful permit, however, only entitles the holder to compensation if they were unaware of the unlawfulness. Under Section 51, a holder is not entitled to compensation if they made false statements or concealed material facts, submitted incorrect or incomplete information, or knew (or should have known, through serious negligence) that the permit was unlawful at the time it was received. An illegal permit obtained through corruption, for example, is revocable without compensation.
In short, receiving a building permit is no guarantee that a project can be completed. A permit can expire, be revoked following a court appeal, or be revoked directly by the issuing administrative authority. To avoid the harsh consequences of revocation, thorough legal due diligence into a project’s legality — independent of the permit itself — is strongly advised before applying. No doubt the owners of this complex now wish they had.
This case of building demolition Thailand courts ultimately ordered underscores that even a seemingly valid building permit offers no absolute protection — thorough, independent legal due diligence into a project’s underlying legality remains essential before construction begins, not just permit approval itself.